Dayn Perry has written an article in which he rates the 6 divisions. He lists the criteria that he uses to make this determination, and makes this his first one:

“Win% vs. Other Divisions: Obviously, this is how the teams of a division have fared against teams from outside the division. This is about as fundamental as it gets when it comes to determining the strength of a particular division.”

Makes sense to me. Then he lists several more. Cumulative Run Differential, Average BtB (Beyond the Boxscore – a complicated formula) Ranking and Average Payroll. Why your payroll determines your strength is a little lost on me, but ……. anyway…….

No big surprise. Off the top of my head I’d probably list them the same, but I’d rank the NL East higher than the AL West. But what is interesting to me is how they are ranked in the “about as fundamental as it gets” catagory – Win% vs. Other Divisions:

So, I’m just wondering if, when he did his research on Win% vs. Other Divisions and came up with the crappy ‘ol NL West as #3, he didn’t just develop all that other stuff to justify sticking us in the cellar. Is it just more evidence of ECB (East Coast Bias)?

Loretta is 5/10 .500/.545/.500/1.045 and a better defensive 2nd baseman than Castro 2/10 against Garland. If you going to rest Hudson at least played the number and let Loretta take a shot at 2nd bases.

Eric, I did not read the article you mentioned and I admit I am not as much of a stat freak as some but I do think folks come up with this sort of stuff just because they can. We all know the NL West is not as strong as other divisions but the Dodgers have done alright so far against teams outside their division. At the end of the day (and how I so much hate that phrase) all that matters is wins and losses. The Dodgers may not have been the best team in 1988 but as I recall things worked out pretty well for them anyway.

Does Juan wear his arm out throwing? – No.
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Does Juan wear out his legs running 90 feet at a time? – No.
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Does Juan have aching muscles from hitting the ball hard? – No.
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Does Juan have any stress worrying about the team? – No.

Good Evening Everybody
Last night’s victory took me by surprise.
I was happy to see that Haren was not pitching the bottom of the eight and had a feeling there would be an uprising, but to come back and win, no way.
I’m hoping to see some runs spread out across the game tonight and not bunched in one place.
But regardless of how it’s done as long as it adds up to more runs than the D’backs.
GO DODGERS####################

Dodgereric – very fascinating stats for sure because I love looking at them too. However, if you look at last season, our division was one the weakest, if not the weakest, and we still swept the Cubs, who everyone named the best team in baseball. So, lbirken makes a good point in that all the matters in the end is who is still playing in October. You are right though, it’s those people who could make a fine career with Fox Sports because they can manipulate stats to prove their point.

Talking about talking heads, why does it take more than two people to discuss or break down a game either before it is played or after? Three people in a broadcast booth during a game? Why? It is hard enough for two people to have enough interesting things to say let alone three.

Stats are interesting and fun. Many of us learned about stats from the backs of baseball cards when we were kids. We just never knew how to analyze these stats and they made for good arguments about who was the better player. We never knew from WHIP, OPS, and such times do change. Many of these newer stats do help tell a better story. Remember when Ross Porter used to take a lot of pot shots because of the stats he would spew on the broadcasts? He was not all that bad, was he?

Hey everyone, Should be a great series with the Phillies. We’ve had some strange weather in the last 24 hrs., so they could get some rain. I felt like I was back East or in Tx with the thunder wei’ve had. It was so loud last night I didn’t know what it was when it first started. It sounded like bombs going off. You don’t expect thunder much, especially this time of year, in Southern CA.

If you are here, you are here, and if you are not here, you are somewhere else – LOL!!!!! Forgive me………………I am a little wired on Mountain Dew and Red Bull, with coffee soon to come. Don’t worry, I will sleep on Saturday, and then for the month of June and July :)

Jhall ~ I never liked the great outdoors…….the bugs, the elements. I did it a few times with the Girl Scouts, roughing it and hated it. I can’t stand to be dirty. Even when my Mom and Dad got their motorhomes, I was never very comfortable. But, they loved it!

………….stayed at the MGM there many time Collie. It is one of the best there. However, when we go to visit friends now, we stay at the hotels outside of the strip because they have movie theatres, a bowling alley and lots of things for the kids to do. However, occasionally, we do still stay there, just for a different view :)

The motorhomes they have now would be nice. If I had one I would cross the country and hit all the stadiums, HOF, Field of Dreams, College WS, and many of the minor league fields. I would mix in the national parks as well. I’d do it over a couple of years based an the section of the country.
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With of course lots of BBQ and whatever food is the local eats.

I can do either, camping and/or hotels. I am more of a cabin person, but I can do tents as well. We used to go up to White Wolf in Yosemite with my in-laws all the time. It was a camp site with already made tents, but you could really rough it and do it yourself as well. I have a friend/colleague who does a combination. They like to go to National Parks so they camp half the time (tents and the whole bit) and do a hotel for the other half. The best of both worlds I guess.

We don’t have kids yet so we do like to go dancing or out when we are there, other wise we would probably do as you Nelly. We can go to dinner, then dancing and have drinks and not worry about driving.
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We also like to bowl. It’s a fun night out!
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The last time we were there they upgraded us to the new Towers behind the MGM. It was real nice. I mean real nice!!!!
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Tru I don’t like to clean them either!

The bowling tourney would be fun Tru.
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Wally I’m okay with camping but I know of this guy who was snow camping this last winter. I told him he was crazy. He was saying it was fun as long as you are prepared. That his friends did it and loved it. Well when he came back he said I was right. He froze the whole time!!! LOL!

Collie – we have been upgraded many times, and those rooms are nice. Have you ever done the Mansion there? I heard it’s to die for, and I am guessing it’s where all the “in the know” people stay. We have also stayed in a suite at the Mirage, and it’s very cool too.

Nope. The Mansion at the MGM? We were just upgraded to the Signature that time. The other places we’ve stayed has been the Luxor and the Stardust. We are going in October to see U2 and hopefully we’ll stay at the MGM again.
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The Mirage would be nice. I really want to stay at the Venetian. One of these days…

Collie – The Mansion is one of those “hidden” secret type places on the property. My guess is they are saved for the frequent high rollers and celebrities. I have stayed at the Luxor. We stayed there during a rain storm, and the water rolled down the tower like a river………………..kind of freaky but cool at the same time.

As I was catching up on my reading here, I noticed some comments about the Mansion at the MGM Grand in Vegas. If any of you have been there, you will have seen the two massive doors that lead to the interior garden. My room mate designed, built and installed those doors. They’re pretty impressive.

That is cool sparkleplenty!!! I have seen pictures of it, and one time when we stayed there, our room overlooked what we figured was the garden area of the Mansion because their was no access to it from any of the normal spots.

I have a cousin who lives there too.
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Back in the early 60’s, I lived in Vegas for a short time and went to K. O. Knudsen junior high. It was certainly a very different environment, to say the least. But UNLV is very special.

I know that school!!! My original teaching credential is from Nevada, and one of my first interviews was at that school. I did my student teaching at P.A. Diskin Elementary (4th grade). We lived there for a year after we got married in 88, and we lived in an apartment out in the Green Valley area in Henderson. The friends we go see most often live off in the Sahara/Decatur area off of Rosemary.

Since you have to be an invited guest to stay there, and usually only whales get invited, it doesn’t look like I will be staying there anytime soon. For me, staying in the $26.95 Su-Th rooms at Primm Valley is a thrill (and just about the only place I can afford.) Not too convenient to the strip though.
If your contact can take pity on a poor ITDer and comp me a room, I will save up for the gas and meal money to go there. :)

……….first you get in this elevator that goes down. The room looks like it’s stretching and then there’s a guy hanging from the ceiling. Then you walk down a hallway with some weird-looking statues and sit down in these little moving bench seats………..

I can’t seem to find it, but I’m reasonably sure I wasn’t imagining it. But most of the stories say that 1) they’re calling up a kid pitcher with some gaudy stats and 2) Glavine stood to make a cool $1 mil for getting back on the roster, $1.25 for making it 30 days and another $1.25 for making it 90 days and 3) they’re now responsible for McCouth’s contract. It all lines up. Signing him will be tempting for someone at the right price. He might be on a mission to prove something.

dodger fans who root against certain dodgers are really odd to me. so you don’t like jp? hey no problemo, but don’t root against a career .300 hitter w/ top rate speed on the paths and in the field who is a great help to your team, or a juan w/ a golden glove who gets rbi’s w/ his leather from a corner or middle infield spot. you “fans” who would start a repko, hoffman, paul, or d. young over a pierre have drunk to much of the “james” kool-aid. PHEW, has really lifted this team since MAN-ROID went down, yet you still root against JP to protect your golden boy ethier who is stuck in hell in a horrendous slump. ethy will pull out of it cause he is a good player, not a HOF’er, but a good player, just like JP. next time ask yourself who do you want in a contact situation (which is frequent, it’s just good ole Bill James has no stat for it yet), who can beat out a DP? who do you want racing down the 1B line, or laying down a sac bunt, or chasing a ball in the gap, or stealing 2nd, or on 2nd with a single hit, or on 3rd w/ a grounder hit. you guys have no idea. if it weren’t for JP’s arm there’d be no argument, and even at that his speed and ethier’s shoddy defense as of late and diminishing assists pretty much negate an argument you might have. Ethier, I’m sorry will probably NEVER EVEN BE AN ALL-STAR, much less a HOF’er, so ask Mr. James to write some new stats. GO BLUE!

There is nobody on this board that I know of that DON’T LIKE JP. We just have differing opinions on who should be playing in the outfield. And, I don’t think many have said anything negative about him lately. I will say he is the one who was not too long ago asking for a trade, and just like Joe chose to play Andre, Joe also chose to sit JP. Also, to the best of my knowledge, not one person, including myself, has ever said Ethier would be a HOFer. I am like most who think he is a good, solid player, and I think for the most part, I enjoy watching him play, but I also enjoy the things he does off the field as well. I know that doesn’t matter to some, but it does matter to me. I am certainly not going to be campaigning Manny to the students I teach anymore. Andre is the type of player most will be. Very few would and should make the HOF………….that should remain an elite group, and I am guessing in the upcoming years, is going to be clouded at best on who really deserves it.

……and even more ridiculous you are for declaring martin dead. you guys are certified GREAT LAKE LOONS. Martins bat dead??!?! sheesh, I can’t even respond, you guys are absurd. here, hop on a plane, fly around the country, stop in 3 different cities, get in a street fight 3 nights in a row in each town, fly back to L.A. from those different time zones and then step into the cages w/ your jelly legs and hit ONLY 70 mph pitches (taking a squat every five pitches and let 1 hit you on the inner thigh) and see how you do. now multiply that punishment by 10 and that’s what Martin goes through and he’s still better fielding, catching, throwing and hitting than most NL catchers. THE GAME IS NOT PLAYED ON A STAT SHEET, J. MARTIN LIVES!

…..there are several folks who dislike JP on this board nel, i just recapped the last several days and many folks really just flat out dislike and root against JP and would rather have a minor leaguer playing instead of JP. i….just…..don’t….get……it. I’d take .290/.340 JP over a minor-leaguer any day, and he seems improved since last year and ’07. I bet Eric would start a healthy Paul over ANY Pierre any day of the week, ask good ole ward.

32and53fan – I am moving classrooms for next year. My room is being overtaken by kindergarten because they are going full day next year. Our district doesn’t want to pay us to do this after school, but they don’t mind us spending endless ours of our own time doing it either. It will be all good by Friday :)

Sheesh,arayd. Take a breath and relax. Everyone is entitled to their opinion here without ridicule, you included. If you think Pierre should start over Ethier, fine. I disagree. Fact is, no one who has any impact on those decisions pays any attention to you or me.

But don’t say that no one here knows baseball, because you’re completely wrong.

Why don’t you ask me yourself? ……and you’re right. From what I saw this spring I’d love to give Paul a solid month or two to see what he can do in the bigs. You and I know what Pierre is capable of doing. Neither one of us knows about Paul.

I would rather see Paul or Hoffman over Pierre too. Pierre can’t thrown down a runner at home plate. That’s good enough for me. That has nothing to do with whether I like him or not, and if they out play Ethier some day, then I have will have no problems with it. I see great things from those two, and I can’t wait to see them up here permanently.

Ididn’t say that no-one knows baseball Mr. Eric. But I did say OTHER aspects that just aren’t quantified by anybody are ever paid attention to, esp. reltated to JP and his gifts (not just now on this tear but even back in ’07 hitting .290/.340ish) and Martin now with his 0 homers and lower BA, yet he still has an OBP of .370+, people wanna declare the CAP dead?!?!? he’s still one of the best NL catchers, offensively and defensively, 5 wild pitches/passed balls in one game are a fluke. anyway it all comes down to W’s and we lead in that category. but i am chillin’ now, gotta hit the sack, thanx for the convo….go blue. J. Martin and JP LIVE!

I have always liked Pierre but unfortunately for him, there are three better players in the Dodger’s outfield once Ramirez gets back. I lot of us have a bad taste in our mouth from 2007 when he was a regular and seemed to kill a lot of rallies with his .245 BA/RISP average.

I don’t wanna risk 1st place seeing what a Paul or Hoffman can do. We know Pierre can produce, we don’t know about guys who have had good springs. c’mon, you know baseball guys, how many players have you seen have a terrific spring, or a great start only to fade away, Pierre is a solid commodity w/ proven good numbers. And there lies the debate, you’d risk first place on an unproven commodity over Pierre, but not Ethier when really both Pierre and Ethier are a wash, not one of them really outshines the other, therefore you have an unfounded, biased dislike of JP.

All of our discussions these last few days have been wonderful. Everyone has had different views on Manny and different views on Pierre and different views on our young guns, but that’s what makes this board great. Messagebear was going bullistic on all the young guns the other day, Ethier included, and we just know that’s how he is, and the same thing with enchanted and the many others we see on here everyday. It would be boring if we all thought the same thing, wouldn’t it? Heck, my mother and I don’t even agree on the Manny thing, and we are on this board together and live in the same town.

where’s the bad taste in people’s mouths w/ Andre’s record setting pace of 12 GIDP’s this year? Sub-mendoza line hitting half the season? 3 RBI’s in what 20-25 games? Talk about rally-killer. and that’s THIS YEAR, as everybody points out, don’t look at the pastm look at THIS YEAR, Ethier is stinky. However I know he’ll pull out of it, the fact he sucks right now doesn’t cause me to have a bias. I just get incensed w/ people ready and wiling to start a Minor-Leaguer over Pierre, it’s RIDICULOUS.

where’s the bad taste in people’s mouths w/ Andre’s record setting pace of 12 GIDP’s this year? Sub-mendoza line hitting half the season? 3 RBI’s in what 20-25 games? Talk about rally-killer. and that’s THIS YEAR, as everybody points out, don’t look at the past look at THIS YEAR, Ethier is stinky. However I know he’ll pull out of it, the fact he sucks right now doesn’t cause me to have a bias. I just get incensed w/ people ready and wiling to start a Minor-Leaguer over Pierre, it’s RIDICULOUS.

Well, if it’s a wash as you say, then yes, I like Ethier more, but I don’t think that way I guess. Joe is the one making the decisions, and Joe decided to play Ethier over Pierre, and we liking him or not liking him had nothing to do with that.

“……..you guys have no idea……… you guys are certified GREAT LAKE LOONS ………… you guys are absurd”

Sorry, my bad. I guess I was mis-reading that as critical of baseball knowledge.

I don’t think there’s any need to recall ’07 or ’08 stats to defend either Pierre or Ethier. We’ve done all that innumerable times in the past. I’m not going to change your mind and you sure aren’t going to change mine.

Regarding Martin, if you really have read the posts from the last few days, you’ll find that I’m one who has defended him. My only ‘constructive’ comment is that he needs to work on his throws to second. Way too many of them are on the wrong side, tonight included.

I really gotta go, I love you guys, truly, Dodger fans bleed blue just like me and you. But a Minor Leaguer over Pierre? c’mon. Maybe if you trade JP for solid pitching,then that minor leaguer gets a shot, but until then, we’ll all have to let Joe make the decisions, and Kemper too w/ his overeager base-running. Long Live JP and J. Martin. GOODNIGHT YOU GREAT LAKE LOONS!

…..and it has been discussed, (Ethier’s lack of power lately and the major slump he is in), and Messagebear and enchanted have no problems bringing it up, and I value their opinions alot for doing it. However, like many of us have said, why is Ethier on such a short leash? Why can’t he slump like others in the majors or on the team even? Why can’t he be able to work out of a slump like everyone else? He is made to hit or be sat, and we wonder why he is so hard on himself.

Pierre vs Ethier a wash? That’s your opinion, not mine. I remember another long and drawn out discussion with you over this last year. I feel Ethier is a clear-cut, no-brainer all-around better player than Pierre. Period.

“Sub-mendoza line hitting half the season?” You’re getting ridiculous. He was hitting .327 on May 5th. Yes, he’s well under .200 for the last 25 games. I believe we’re playing more than 50.

o.k. i peeked again, ethier is hitting sub-mendoza 1/2 this season to date. that’s what i meant, 1/2 of the season so far not 1/2 of the full season. and in many aspects ethier is a clear cut choice over pierre. I maintain no minor-leaguer deserves a chance over Pierre ever and especially right now w/ 1st place on the line. However Pierre is better in many aspects than Ethier such as, breaking up Dp’s, Balls in the gap, sac bunts, 1st to 3rd and the hardly talked about 2nd to home sprint, sliding, stealing and line drive hitting, less strike outs and putting the ball in play and a higher run % for PA’s.

I think something is wrong with me. I just had a bad dream and was dreaming of Tomko in the starting rotation going 24-7 with a 1.34 ERA and he has 12 CG’s and winning the CY and also Kemp won the triple crown with a .385 batting average, 65 homeruns, 160 rbi’s and even leading the SB with 74.

I don’t recall saying that Martin was dead, just his bat after his second whiff of the night, which followed a stellar 0 for 4 performance his pervious game, and the fact that here we are in June and our catcher doesn’t even have 1 HR, and only 20 RBI depite batting in the middle of the order most of the time:
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“I would like to ask all of you now to please bow your heads and observe a moment of silence for Marty’s bat that passed away in Spring 2009.”
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By enchantedsunset on June 3, 2009 9:07 PM
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I think that’s called humor.

JP is right now one of the three best OFers on the team. He is however 5 for his last 25 which shows me he’s trending back down to his normal levels (not that we expect him to hit .400 all year.) Could he use a day off, sure. Would I play Hoffmann over him on a regular basis? No.

Would I trade Marty or JP if the right deal came along – you bet. No one on this team is untouchable for the right price if it significantly improves the team.

I guess I was one of the people referred to as a Juan basher and since I wasn’t around in the late night hours, I’d like to say now that I have nothing against him personally but, I don’t think now, nor will I ever think he is a good player. He did have a streak of good luck hitting recently but overall he is just a mediocre hitter, with a lousy arm. So what if he has a little speed. That is highly overrated…..speed doesn’t steal bases………reading the pitcher does. During the time Manny is gone, we could have experimented with Hoffmann and Paul just to see what they have. Not necessarily every game but, Juan doesn’t have to play all 50 games Manny is gone. either.

Good morning ITD, Dodger Faithful,
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Outstanding all around win from the Boy’s last night……:-)
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Phillies come to town tonight, Lets get another WIN!!!!!
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GO DODGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BRING THE RING TO L.A. IN 2009!!!!!!!!!
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Have a great day everyone :-)

If we’re going to continue to defeat the better teams, we’re going to have to get our offense back on track. In the 7 games since the Colorado series, we’ve scored 20 runs. Fourteen of those were in two games. Ten of those 14 were scored in two innings. So, take away those two innings and we’ve scored 10 runs in 59 innings. Not very consistent.

Our batting average has dropped from a high of .292 on May 27th to .284.
Our OBP has dropped from .379 on May 9th to .366.
Our SLG has dropped from .436 on May 15th to .412.
All still good numbers, but they’re all falling and we’re better than this.

A good Phillie team is next, then 2 with the Padres and then another set with some AL teams, which has been giving us trouble the last several years. The pitching is carrying us for the moment, but we all know it’s really not our strength. The bats need to come alive again. Let’s get back to being selective and get into the bullpens as early as possible. It seems to be almost every team’s Achilles’ Heel this year. That’s where we won the Dback series.

Actually their expected contribution to the Dodgers can be described as very slim. Were it not for Manny’s suspension, neither of them would have appeared with the big club until September or only in case of somebody’s injury. Both probably have good merit, or somebody else would have been advanced in their place to serve the current purpose of being a fill-in. Everybody loves a Cinderella success story, especially me, so I too would have loved to see either Paul or Hoffmann tear the cover off the ball in their limited exposure. It would have been great to see either one do so well that Torre couldn’t sit him down, whether at the expense of Pierre or anybody else. That didn’t happen, and is rarely likely to happen in the big leagues. When Manny comes back, I expect that the time for Paul and Hoffmann will be over until again the limited exposure in September. JP won’t lose his place on the roster, because he will have established his worth for the remainder of his contract, if not with most of us on ITD, then with Torre and Ned, where it counts. My take is that Paul and Hoffmann are as unlikely to become full time Dodgers as DY proved to be. All likelihood is that Manny will be with us through next season, and even after that, assuming that his performance is still good, his chances of signing a one year contract beyond the existing one are probably far greater with Frank and the Dodgers than somewhere else.

So, we simply may not have room for an outfielder ready for the majors from our immediate minor league ranks. Let’s also remember that right behind Paul and Hoffmann are names like, Lambo, and Van Slyke, and Russell, and that’s eliminating a Repko and forgetting to include some other prospects already here and to be drafted. Paul and Hoffmann are most likely to be traded, if we still have a hole in the pitching department, and most teams including the Dodgers always do. So as much as I always like to see the new blood, unless they start hitting 3 or 4 home runs a week, that’s what I think of their chances.

Good morning ITD boys and girls!
hope everyone is having a great Thursday! i had a great time in Chicago and the homestand has been great!
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My recruting of blood donors on Monday went great as June from the Red Cross was very happy of the number of signatures I collected. I was not able to meet Digthedodgers and his wife Monday because of this but I met them on Tuesday and last night I gave them a mini tour of the stadium prior to the game as they will not be able to make it for the regular ITD tour. They are here for one more game tonight.
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**Jordan from the Dodgers Embassadors*** Thank you so much for upgrading our (Lorena & I) seats! Come and see us anytime!
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Talked to Pepe Iniguez in Chicago. He said Troncoso’s nickname is “El Lechero” “the Milkman” and Belisario is “Belly”. Those are the two nicknames he uses when he broadcasts the game.
Emmahttp://crzblue.mlblogs.com/

I was shocked the Pirates dealt Nate McLouth, a young, gold-glove, power-hitting outfielder signed through 2012. I was really impressed with him last year when he played against the Dodgers. Whoever the Pirates got back (1 outfielder, two pitchers) they better be pretty darn good.

L.A. Times laid out some numbers about Manny and it shows the Dodgers are starting to miss him. 15-10 record, little power, far fewer walks. The Dodgers are to be commended for their tough play, but getting Manny back will be a good thing. Sorry, messagebear, I know you hate hearing that. But Phan should be very embarrassed today, what with Romero coming back and pitching last night……………

I’m realist enough to face the inevitable, kahli. Still 24 games or so to gear myself up to try and become a Manniac.
I’d never root even against Manny once he’s back in the Dodger uniform. Just think that signing him was a mistake and hope he doesn’t become more of a problem than he already is. I’m thinking that even Manny can’t be stupid enough to be caught a second time – what’s that, a 100 games? Then again, look at all the ballparks that could be built with those kind of savings.

surprise surprise.. the ethier-pierre debate rears it’s ugly head yet again.. regardless of what side of the fence you’re on (on this board the ethier side is much more crowded) the fact is that we’re stuck with pierre for probably some time.. i for one, am always frustrated by the guy.. i know that his numbers are creeping back down now, which makes him an easier target.. yes, he’s been productive offensively for the most part lately.. but he will always scare me on defense.. i don’t think that i’ll ever be a fan of his game.. and that doesn’t mean that i don’t know baseball.. we all like and dislike different players.. when you’re a bigger fan of a certain player, you’re willing to give them a pass every now and again.. because you see the pros outweighing the cons.. that’s how i feel about russell struggling right now..

as far as starting paul, or hoffman, or another kid over pierre.. yes, it’s hard to want to support the unknown when, as you say, with pierre you know exactly what you’re going to get.. well, what about when what you’re getting isn’t satisfactory to you? optimism and upside is a wonderful part of watching sports.. if you believe that you might get more production from one of the kids, then there’s nothing wrong with wanting to see if it’s true.. no one is giving up first place to experiement.. the kid could be bad, but he might also hit .400, and have an incredible sluggling %.. if you’re scared to see, you can never reap the rewards.. pierre doesn’t come with rewards, he’s just plain and average.. but with kids, they can always surprise you.. and surprises to me are great..

Hey there. I was surprised that nobody here (until arayd’s mention) got after Kemp when he went from 1st to 3rd with two outs on Tuesday night. Vinny mentioned that it was too aggressive with two outs. But I’m sure that if Bowa wasn’t happy about the decision, he let Kemp know about it soon after.
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I’m weighing in on Ethier versus Pierre. Why does it matter? Because on July 3rd, the Blue will once again have four major league outfielders and Joe will need to make a choice. Defensively, I prefer Kemp/Ethier (cf/rf) as opposed to Pierre/Kemp. Ethier certainly has the better arm, based on an average of 10 assists per year compared to Pierre’s 4 per year. Offensively, both have a similar career BA/OBP, with Ethier at .294/.364 compared to Pierre’s .302/.349. So it comes down to whether we prefer extra base hits versus speed on the basepaths. As long as the top of the lineup includes Furcal and ODog, I would choose Ethier’s higher slugging percentage over Pierre’s speed.
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Looking forward to Sunday’s pitching matchup, Wolf versus Bastardo. Sounds like a Grimms’ fairy tale. You just can’t make this stuff up, folks!

LOL!! Why should I be embarrassed about Romero coming back? The dude did his time for being stupid, and he is eligible to play.
At least he wasn’t so stupid that he was taking something to help him get pregnant. But I guess that’s Manny being Manny….

haha good ending to the post crash.. that’s hilarious..
i agree about kemp’s baserunning blunder.. he barely made it in there.. and if he was nailed, it would have negated the comeback.. but lucky for us, he was safe.. i’m sure bowa gave him an earful =P

The Dodgers will need Pierre in order to win the whole thing, whether we like it or not. But Pierre and Manny in the line-up together makes for an incredibly weak outfield defense. Uncle Joe is no idiot. Uncle Joe also likes Ethier…especially when Manny is around. Pierre’s resurgence can only benefit the team, and if he really has adopted a “shut up and play” mentality, then all the better. Injuries are an eye blink away, and come crunch time (late September into October), I’d rather have Pierre on the roster than Paul or Hoffmann. I’ve always maintained I have nothing against Pierre, just something against Torre when he plays Juan over Matt or Andre.

phan, phan, phan…you either cheat or you don’t. The only difference between Manny and Romero is skill level, and I think we both know who wins that contest. Just remember, come July 3, and I quote a famous blogger, “The dude did his time for being stupid, and he is eligible to play.”

Here’s the difference sara….Romero was stupid for taking an over-the-counter supplement without checking into it further. That was stupid and he paid for it. Frankly I think he got screwed because the severe penalties weren’t put in place to catch guys like him. They’re trying to catch the ‘roiders.
Manny, on the other hand, was taking a masking agent that has no possible other purpose when taken by a man. He took it to mask steroids and everybody knows it. Now he is paying the penalty and it is more than just and he will be welcomed back at the end of 50 games. What he did is why they have the severe penalties.

To be completely honest, Manny never tested positive for anything in his blood. He was suspended based on a prescription for a banned substance. Now we can speculate all we like (and I’m sure Manny wasn’t using his drugs trying to increase his chances at pregnancy), but if you believe Romero unknowingly and unwittingly took a banned substance because he forgot to do his homework, then you, my friend, are what we call a myopic fanatic.

It is well documented what Romero did, so you can stop the namecalling. He took an over-the-counter product that he did not check out and I am not excusing him. It is right that he got suspended for it and it is also right that he is allowed to return. Nothing to be embarrassed about. You don’t know anything about JC Romero other than he was suspended so stop trying to act like you do.
Now who is being myopic when you deny the purpose of the drug that Manny took?

Never denied it…see sarcasm (“and I’m sure Manny wasn’t using his drugs trying to increase his chances at pregnancy”). As for embarrassment (sarcasm again), I’m just regurgitating your reference to the Dodger ITD bloggers concerning his All-Star vote standing when you called us out a few days back. As for name-calling, I apologize for calling you “my friend.”

Perhaps he will be ready for Saturday afternoon’s matchup against Kuroda. Too bad you won’t be facing Billingsley this series.
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If, just if, you did vote for Romero, where would you write him in? First base? Outfield?

As I said before, phan, I don’t vote for the beauty contest….er, All-Star game. So please stop painting this blog as a multi-celled, mindless animal. We are all individuals. Just like not all Philly fans would come in here talking smack. As for Victorino, I’d prefer the Dodgers beat you at full strength. I never like to see an athlete injured.

From the LA Times: “A third of the way through the season, James Loney is on pace to drive in 123 runs. The last Dodger with that many RBIs was Shawn Green in 2001.
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But with only two home runs before Wednesday’s game, Loney is also on pace to finish the season with six. To find the last time in franchise history a player drove in so many runs with so few homers, you have to go back 117 years, to 1892 and Hall of Famer Dan Brouthers, who had five homers and a league-leading 124 RBIs when the team was called the Brooklyn Grooms.”http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodgers-fyi4-2009jun04,0,7128482.story
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A few things that the LA Times failed to mention about Brouthers: (1) He was also a first baseman. (2) He hit twenty triples that year. (3) He made his way around the league, like many of the current players. He got his start in 1879-80 with the Troy Trojans, then moved on to the Buffalo Bisons (81-85), Detroit Wolverines (86-88), Boston Beaneaters(89), Boston Reds (90-91), Brooklyn Grooms(92-93), Baltimore Orioles (94-95), Louisville Colonels(95), then, horror of horrors, went to the Philadelphia Phillies (96), semi-retired, and finally came back at the age of 46 for two games with, …., OMG the Gnats.

“No team looks perfect with nearly two months to go before the trade deadline … well, no team except the Dodgers, that is. Whomever they use performs. At least that’s the way it looks now. But even the Dodgers — who are getting a .379 season out of Juan Pierre and have big performances out of Eric Stults, Jeff Weaver, Eric Milton and just about everyone else in blue — still might need some help eventually.”

and with these items in the notes:

• The Dodgers hold a one-year option on GM Ned Colletti, and if they don’t pick it up, they’ll extend him. What do you expect? They are currently the best team in baseball, and even Pierre is proving valuable. The bigger question is what they do with Pierre once Manny Ramirez returns.

• Some close to the situation believe Joe Torre saying he wasn’t sure whether he’d return after 2010 is only the first salvo in negotiations. (I am one of those people.)

“No team looks perfect with nearly two months to go before the trade deadline … well, no team except the Dodgers, that is. Whomever they use performs. At least that’s the way it looks now. But even the Dodgers — who are getting a .379 season out of Juan Pierre and have big performances out of Eric Stults, Jeff Weaver, Eric Milton and just about everyone else in blue — still might need some help eventually.”

and with these items in the notes:

• The Dodgers hold a one-year option on GM Ned Colletti, and if they don’t pick it up, they’ll extend him. What do you expect? They are currently the best team in baseball, and even Pierre is proving valuable. The bigger question is what they do with Pierre once Manny Ramirez returns.

• Some close to the situation believe Joe Torre saying he wasn’t sure whether he’d return after 2010 is only the first salvo in negotiations. (I am one of those people.)

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